Telling Our Story is a new series of blog posts from MASS Environmental Services Inc., sharing the history of our team, our people, and how our company came to be. Each featured post of this series will introduce readers to a different part of the story that has brought us to where we are today. Our first post, Meet Our Founders features George and Marnie Brown, our President and Vice-President who’ve been leading MASS since the very start.

In 2001, George and Marnie Brown were a married couple with two kids, who’d recently moved to Lakefield, Ontario. Both having built successful careers – George in the corporate world, and Marnie in the healthcare field – they’d made a very bold choice. Together, they made the decision to launch MASS Environmental Services Inc., a company that would change the way that we think about waste.

Largely inspired by their personal sense of family focus, the pair looked at their two children – Mac and Alex – and wondered about the future of our planet and how it would impact the next

generation. They looked around at the beautiful country and the province in which they lived, and recognized that we, as Canadians, are so ‘nature-rich,’ that we can sometimes take it for granted. Looking ahead, they could see how this privilege could easily be lost in the future, if no body stepped up the the plate and made a difference.

So, Marnie and George set out to do just that. Driven by the mission to ‘Be The Change You Want To See In The World,’ they launched MASS Environmental Services Inc., with one key focus: To help Canadian businesses send less material to landfill through Waste Diversion.

The company has never wavered from this mission, nor has it wavered from the original set of company values that were embedded within the company from the very start. In fact, the company name itself, “MASS,” is an acronym standing for the first initial of the names of their son, Mackenzie, their daughter Alexandra, and their two nephews, Spencer and Sidney.

Marnie and George lead by example, exhibiting the MASS Values in everything they do. Family focus underlines the work-ethic of the entire company. This drives their motivation to leave a legacy of a more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable future.

They are committed to maintaining a reputation for reliability and accountability, and ensuring a continued vested interest in the success of MASS clients, partners, and team members. These values form the structural integrity of every element of Marnie and George’s life, including the company.

From the earliest days of 2001 when the company was based out of their home in Lakefield, to a nationwide portfolio of clients being served out of our Cobourg, Ontario headquarters, the company has grown exponentially. Marnie and George have been at the helm of the ship every day of the journey.

In recent years, Marnie and George welcomed the second generation into the company. Their son and daughter, Mac and Alex, both completed their university education in 2014, and now hold management roles at MASS. Embodying everything that it means to be ‘family-owned-and-operated,’ the Brown family works closely every single day towards a purpose that is larger than themselves.

Looking back on the early days of MASS, it is incredible to recognize how far the company has come. Today, there are 13 individuals who

make up “The MASS Team,” and each of them contribute every single day towards a more sustainable future. MASS now provides a multitude of services to more than 1,000 businesses across the country including: Non-Hazardous Waste Services, Hazardous Waste Services, Biomedical Waste Services, Waste Audits, Confidential Shredding and Destruction, Used Cooking Oil Collection, Grease Trap Services, and Solid Waste Consulting Services.

The MASS team achieves: Cost Control, Education, and Compliance for our clients through the MASS Methodology, and continues to guide every single one of our locations to do the right thing.

At the beginning of every day, Marnie Brown reminds the team of the MASS motto: Change Begins With Just One Step. In the same way that we remind our clients of this, she reminds us. Every single one of us must hold ourselves accountable to take that single step, and do the right thing..

Marnie and George live and lead by example, not just ‘talking the talk,’ but by ‘walking the walk.’ Their leadership is what continues to make MASS successful, which allows us to achieve waste diversion success on behalf of our clients, and make a difference every single day.

Stay tuned to read more stories about the MASS team, our history,
and the pieces of the puzzle that have brought us to where we are today.